


Under Your Skin (Then You Begin)

by owlways_and_forever



Series: The Mischief They Create [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Coming of Age, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Post-disownment, seventeenth birthday
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:22:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26037088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/owlways_and_forever/pseuds/owlways_and_forever
Summary: On his seventeenth birthday, Sirius finds himself struggling with his disownment more than he expected.
Relationships: Sirius Black/Marlene McKinnon
Series: The Mischief They Create [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1888561
Kudos: 2





	Under Your Skin (Then You Begin)

_Remember to let her into your heart_  
 _Then you can start to make it better  
_ \- Hey Jude by The Beatles

Sirius sat at the top of the Astronomy Tower, feeling the wind rustling in his hair. It had been a difficult day. Beyond difficult, really. He had woken up exhausted and in a foul mood after the thunderstorms the night before, and it had only gotten worse from there.

Sirius hadn’t expected much from his family on his birthday. Over the years, it had mostly served as an opportunity for his parents to remind him how little he had accomplished so far, and that even though Regulus was a year younger than him, he would be a much better heir for the Black legacy. Once he had started at school, he wasn’t with his family on his birthday, and so things were a bit better. His parents sent him some impractical and unwanted gifts, and he and Regulus would find time to do something together. It was stiff and formal, and not exactly something he looked forward to, but it was _something_.

But this year was different. It was his seventeenth birthday. He was a man, legally an adult now. His birthday should have been a big deal. According to tradition, Sirius should have been gifted his father’s gold wristwatch, with its intricate carvings of the celestial world. But instead he received a letter from his parents informing him that he was ungrateful and unworthy of a family, and would never have one again. He would have to make his way forward in life, not just without the Black family’s support and influence, but with the opposition. He was officially and legally disowned. _From this year on_ , they wrote, _this day will hold no meaning to us. It will pass by unnoticed_. They signed the letter “Orion & Walburga Black”, without birthday wishes or sentiment of any kind. It wasn’t entirely unexpected. Sirius had known he would be disowned eventually and had almost assumed it had happened already, but it was no less of a punch to the gut.

Worse than that was Regulus. He had been distant all year, but they were in different houses and different years, and they didn’t have much opportunity to interact anyway, so Sirius brushed it off. But when Sirius approached him that morning, Regulus had quietly informed him that he was forbidden from speaking with Sirius beyond what niceties were required. _You don’t have to do this!_ Sirius had wanted to scream. _You don’t have to listen to them!_ But he swallowed his words and moved on, making his way to class instead.

James, Remus and Peter tried their best to cheer Sirius up throughout the day, but it was no use. After dinner, Sirius had made his way to the Astronomy Tower to be alone and process everything that had happened. So he didn’t have a family anymore, big deal. He didn’t need them anyway. And he had the Potters, who seemed to like him just fine. Doubt crept into his mind in the form of his parents’ words. Unworthy of a family. Maybe the Potters would come to the same conclusion.

Sirius shook his head, trying to dispel those thoughts. It wasn’t going to happen.

The door creaked behind him and Sirius whipped his head around to see who was there. Marlene stepped out from the shadows, strands of her hair lifting on the wind. She walked over to him, pulling her black leather jacket tighter around her, the heels of her boots clicking on the stone floor.

“Whatcha doin’ up here?” she asked, sitting down next to him.

“I just wanted some time to myself,” he answered with a shrug. Sirius didn’t particularly feel like discussing his inner turmoil with anyone.

“I know that your family sucks,” Marlene said after a long, quiet moment. “Probably more than most.”

“Who told you?” Sirius asked defensively. There were very few people who knew the particulars about his home life.

“Sirius, it’s the worst kept secret at school that you have a shitty relationship with your family,” she laughed. “But I guess I’m probably one of the few that’s guessed the details of what goes on at home. Takes one to know one.”

Sirius looked at her inquisitively, noticing the way the moonlight reflected in her brown eyes. Marlene sighed and began to talk.

“My father’s the one who named me, you know. Mum wanted something religious, probably Maria, but Dad decided on Marlene. I look like my mother though, spitting image really. And hopefully I take after her in personality too.” She smiled wryly at the horizon, and Sirius felt the urge to tuck her hair behind her ear. “He’s a bloody asshole. And an alcoholic. And, um, I guess the rest is pretty stereotypical.”

“I’m sorry,” Sirius whispered. Despite often wishing that someone else understood what it was like for him, he never actually wanted anyone to go through it.

“It’s fine,” she shrugged. “Or at least, it is what it is. But I get it, and if you ever want to talk to someone about it, I’m here. And if you don’t want to talk but you want a little… distraction, well, I’m here for that too.”

She shifted slightly and her thigh brushed against his, making him feel delightfully tingly. Marlene turned her head to look at him, and her lips looked more red, soft and enticing. She blinked and her long eyelashes kissed her cheeks, and suddenly Sirius wanted to feel them fluttering against his own skin. He leaned in, sighing into her lips, and her touch had him feeling relaxed for the first time all day.


End file.
